If you've ever read, or are familiar with, Anne Rice's "The Vampire Lestat," there is a part where Lestat and Marius discuss the importance of burying oneself in the earth for periods of time. Apparently, sometimes vampires need to "go down into the earth" as if they die, and then later they rise again, like an escape from the world leading to being reborn. I won't go into the details of the book, it just popped into my mind today. Because I thought I understood this conversation they had when I first read it a few months ago, but now I'm living it. Artists must return to the earth in a sense from time to time to survive, as vampires do. This comparison is not to say that all artists, myself, or vampires are depressing or "goth" or whatever. Nor do they have to be misunderstood or morbid or anything of that nature. It's just that there are periods an artist goes through where times get tough and they need to/want to break away, return to the earth.
Sometimes you feel discouraged, that's true for any passion or career I think. But art is different. You can't quit art. Despite school systems that cut art and music programs and recessions that leave artists hopeless, it prevails. This is why I propose the idea of going back to the earth when I am discouraged. I continue to draw and paint and go to my art classes, but inside I'm under the soil. I'm renewing and regaining the courage to keep on keeping on. It's rough out there, so sometimes you just need to step back and put some things on hold.
When Lestat went into the earth for the first time, he didn't stop being a vampire. Even though he didn't give in to his thirst, he stepped away, went on a holiday of sorts. And when he came back, he was indeed back. That's what I think artists need to do to survive, get away. You won't stop being an artist, but you'll come back refreshed, possibly better. It's natural to do this I think. It may even go against nature to not do so. Hopefully I'm not the only one that's felt like going back to the earth, otherwise my discouragement might be more serious than originally thought.
